Frequently Asked Questions

Here's a selection of questions we are often asked when a new Library considers joining Books Asia. To view the answers, simply click on the questions.

Languages and Stock

Can you supply languages not listed on your website?

We prefer to remain focused on the languages listed on our website. However, for our larger 'World Language Contracts', we often accommodate other requirements. For example, we supply Thai, Telegu, Somali etc.

Can you supply Indic Magazines and Newspapers?

We used to. But due to the 'often unpredictable' nature of importing these periodicals, we prefer not to supply them. There is one exception - we supply 'Urdu Digests' from Pakistan (22 titles in a variety of genres). These 'Readers Digest style' magazines are hugely popular across the globe and easily the most popular Indic item in UK libraries. They really are a 'must-have' for any library within a Pakistani community.

Are foreign-language eBooks available yet?

Yes, eBooks are available for European and Chinese material. For Indic material, the larger publishers are currently creating content, and we hope to add a few titles to our catalogue by the end of 2014. We are in the process of reviewing licensing and platform options - it's likely to be 3Q-2015 before eBooks are a standard addition to the Books Asia portfolio.

Marc Records

Where is your Bibliographic data sourced from?

All our Marc Records are created in-house by experienced Cataloguers with 'book in hand'. We cross reference Authority data against OCLC and Publisher Databases where available. Our Marc records are accurate and comprehensive, containing upto 35 tags. We are reputed as having the best quality foreign-language Marc records in the industry.

Can you include Native Script in your Marc Records?

Not at the moment. However, we are currently developing a solution (Unicode formatted Marc records). We hope to introduce Native Script Alternate Tags (for Author and Title) in 2015. We will initially introduce this for Chinese and Arabic, as these are the languages currently being requested for Native Script support.

Which Subject Heading standard do you use?

We use the BIC standard for our UK libraries - these are held in TAG655. For New Zealand, Australia and Sweden (and Scotland!) we use Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) - these are held in TAG650. We follow the 'rule of threes' across our cataloguing, hence upto 3 BIC or 3 LCSH subjects are recorded.

EDI Services

Do we need a minimum spend for you to offer EDI?

No - whether your annual foreign-languages budget is £1000 or £100,000 we would be delighted to implement EDI with your library. No matter the budget, EDI is a 'win-win' for everybody concerned. We encourage all our libraries to 'go-EDI' with Books Asia. There is no charge for our EDI implementation or support.